High environmental costs behind rapid economic development: Evidence from economic loss caused by atmospheric acid deposition

Qiongyu Zhang; Jianxing Zhu; Jan Mulder; Qiufeng Wang; Congqiang Liu; Nianpeng He

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117511

High environmental costs behind rapid economic development: Evidence from economic loss caused by atmospheric acid deposition

J Environ Manage. 2023 May 15:334:117511. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117511. Epub 2023 Feb 15.

Authors

Qiongyu Zhang¹, Jianxing Zhu², Jan Mulder³, Qiufeng Wang², Congqiang Liu⁴, Nianpeng He⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China; Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
² Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, 1431, Norway.
⁴ Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Earth Critical Zone and Flux Research Station of Xing'an Mountains, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Daxing'anling, 165200, China. Electronic address: henp@igsnrr.ac.cn.

PMID: 36801691
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117511

Abstract

The rapid growth of energy-intensive and high-emission industries has propelled China's economy but has also led to massive levels of air pollutant emissions and ecological problems, such as acid deposition. Despite recent declines, atmospheric acid deposition in China is still severe. Long-term exposure to high levels of acid depositions has a substantial negative impact on the ecosystem. Evaluating these hazards and incorporating this issue into planning and decision-making processes is critical to achieving sustainable development goals in China. However, the long-term economic loss caused by atmospheric acid deposition and its temporal and spatial variation in China is unclear. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the environmental cost of acid deposition in the agriculture, forestry, construction, and transportation industries from 1980 to 2019, using long-term monitoring, integrated data, and the dose-response method with localization parameters. The results showed that the estimated cumulative environmental cost of acid deposition was USD 230 billion, representing 0.27% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in China. This cost, was particularly high for building materials, followed by crops, forests, and roads. Temporally, the environmental cost and the ratio of environmental cost to GDP decreased from their peaks by 43% and 91%, respectively, because of emission controls targeting acidifying pollutants and promotion of clean energy. Spatially, the largest environmental cost occurred in developing provinces, indicating that more stringent emission reduction measures should be implemented in these regions. These findings highlight the huge environmental costs behind rapid development; however, the implementation of reasonable emission reduction measures can effectively reduce these environmental costs, providing a promising paradigm for other undeveloped and developing countries.

Keywords: Acid deposition; Emission reduction; Environmental cost; Sustainable development.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
China
Economic Development
Ecosystem
Environmental Pollutants*
Forests

Substances

Air Pollutants
Environmental Pollutants